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Delaware pageant to focus on inner beauty

Wilmington will soon be host to a new beauty pageant, the first of its kind for the First State, designed for girls to show their inner beauty and feel great about being themselves.

The Mizz. Natural Pageant was created by Wilmington native Miraclle Shields, a graduate of St. Elizabeth High School class of 2013. Her mission is to allow young girls to acknowledge their natural beauty and not be consumed with the social pressures of today’s society, allowing them to embrace their individuality and natural selves.

After she was a contestant in the 2013 Delaware Miss Teen Pageant, Shields began the idea of starting a beauty pageant that would focus on the inner beauty of contestants, rather than the physical, because as she said, “All girls need to realize that they are beautiful and are ‘that girl’ that they see on TV every day.”

Shields said: “The pageant does not judge on beauty at all on the score sheet. We are going to evaluate the contestants writing ability, personality, energy and creativity. By having this pageant require the natural appeal of the contestants, we hope to boost their self-esteem and instill in them the importance of knowing that to be themselves is to be unique.”

With the help of Rev. Dr. Samuel Richardson III, pastor at New Mt. Bethel Baptist Church in Wilmington, Shields has secured a date and venue for the spectacle. The pageant will be held on Nov. 30, 2013, at Bancroft Elementary School Auditorium in Wilmington, Del.

Shields said she hopes the pageant will grow and reach a broad audience and hopefully become an annual event like any other beauty pageant, but encouraging girls to not be afraid to step into the spotlight.